AJAX -- A former Ajax High School student was the Canadian killed on a Malaysian airplane when it was shot down over eastern Ukraine Thursday, July 17.

Andrei M. Anghel, according to his LinkedIn page, was a student at Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Romania.

On Friday morning Mr. Anghel’s parents were red-eyed and somber when contacted by a reporter and photographer from the Ajax News Advertiser.

“He loved people,” said his father, Sorin Anghel later in the morning. “He wanted to do research and find a cure for cancer.”

“He loved people,” said his father, Sorin Anghe. “He wanted to do research and find a cure for cancer.”

Sorin described his son as an ambitious young man who had been planning a vacation to Bali with his girlfriend, who was also aboard the Malaysia Airlines jetliner.

He attended Ajax High School from 2004 to 2008.

According to his LinkedIn profile, he attended the University of Waterloo from 2008 to 2012 where he received a Bachelor of Science, honours in biomedical science.

In a Facebook post, Mr. Anghel’s sister noted, “I am so numb and my heart is so broken. I love you so much kiddo Andrei M. Anghel please help me stay strong for mom and dad I don’t know how to get through this without you. My heart goes out to the rest of the families who lost their hearts on that plane.”

Ajax Mayor Steve Parish released a statement offering condolences to the family.

“Today, we learned that Ajax resident Andrei Anghel sadly lost his life yesterday in the Malaysia Airlines tragedy. Andrei grew up in Ajax and was studying abroad in Romania to become a doctor. On behalf of Ajax Council, we extend our heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the Anghel family who still live in Ajax, and all those affected by this senseless act.”

U.S. officials have confirmed a surface-to-air missile brought down flight MH17, killing all 298 on board. The flight was on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Plumes of black smoke led to where the plane went down near Grabovo, a rebel-held village in the eastern region of Ukraine that is at the centre of a tug of war between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces.

Pieces of steel, bloodied bodies -- many still intact, even a dead child still strapped into a seat, could be seen strewn over the fields along with personal items such as headphones, luggage and travel guides

The cockpit and a turbine engine lay a kilometre apart and the tail of the plane landed another 10 kilometres away. Sticks with white flags marked signs of human remains.

“It fell down in pieces,” said one rescue worker as tents were set up to gather the dead.

World condemnation was swift, along with a tinge of disbelief. This is the second Malaysia Airlines tragedy this year. In March, a Malaysian jetliner en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared without a trace somewhere in the Indian Ocean with a great loss of life.

U.S. President Barack Obama called the missile attack a “terrible tragedy” and pledged America would help in any way it can. U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden took a tougher stand, saying the plane was “blown out of the sky” and that this was “not an accident.”